Mitchi rules

Everything you need to play, from setup to the end of the game.

Overview

Mitchi is a dice game for two or more players, played over a series of rounds. Each round, you roll to avoid being left with the worst hand. The player with the worst hand takes the points in the pot. When the game ends, the player with the fewest points wins.

What you need

Two dice, the standard six-sided kind
A pen and paper to keep score
Two or more players

Setup

Agree a point limit. 25 is usual. Choose a lower limit for a shorter game.
Decide who starts. Everyone rolls one die, and the highest roll starts. If the highest roll is tied, those players roll again. Play goes clockwise.

Hands

A hand is the two dice you finish your turn with. There are six groups of hands, from best to worst:

Mitchi: A 2 and a 1. The best hand in the game.
Doubles: Both dice show the same number.
Six-high: A 6 with a 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1.
Five-high: A 5 with a 4, 3, 2 or 1.
Four-high: A 4 with a 3, 2 or 1.
Three-high: A 3 with a 2 or 1.

Within a group, the higher hand wins: double-six beats double-five, and six-five beats six-four. The worst hand in the game is three-one.

All hands are listed on the quick reference.

Playing a round

The starting player sets the roll limit

The starting player rolls both dice, up to three times, and can stop after any roll. After each roll, they can:

re-roll both dice
keep one die and re-roll the other
stop and keep their hand

Each roll is a new choice. Keeping a die on one roll does not mean keeping it on the next. Re-rolling one die still counts as a roll.

The number of rolls the starting player uses is the roll limit for everyone else that round.

Everyone else

Everyone else takes a turn in clockwise order, with the same choices, up to the roll limit. You do not have to use every roll. Stop when you are happy with your hand.

You never need the best hand. You only need to beat the worst hand so far: the lowest-ranked hand rolled this round. It changes as players finish their turn, so a later player may have less to beat than an earlier one.

Scoring the round

Every round starts with 1 point in the pot.

The first Mitchi rolled replaces that point with 2 points. Each Mitchi after that adds 2 more, so the pot is 2 points for every Mitchi rolled.

At the end of the round, the player with the worst hand takes the pot and adds the points to their score. They start the next round.

Mitchis rolled	Points
None	1
One	2
Two	4
Three	6

Tie-breaks

If two or more players are tied on the worst hand, they play a tie-break to decide who takes the pot.

Double the pot.
Roll once each. Only the tied players roll, with no re-rolls. Go in the opposite direction to the last round or tie-break, starting with the last player to roll.
Add 2 points for each Mitchi rolled in the tie-break.
The worst hand takes the pot. If players tie again, go back to step 1 with only those players.

Example

What happens	Points
Round
Three players tie on the worst hand	1
Tie-break 1
The pot doubles (× 2)	2
One player rolls a Mitchi (+ 2)	4
The other two tie again	4
Tie-break 2
The pot doubles (× 2)	8
One player has the worst hand and takes the pot	8

Winning the game

The game ends when any player reaches the point limit. The player with the fewest points wins.

If two or more players are tied on the fewest points, they share the win.

Game vocabulary

Mitchi: The game, and its best hand: a 2 and a 1.
Die: One of the dice.
Hand: The two dice you finish your turn with.
Roll: One throw of one or both dice. Re-rolling one die still counts as a roll.
In one, in two, in three: How many rolls a hand took: six-three in two.
Round: Every player takes one turn, then the worst hand takes the pot.
Turn: Your rolls in a round, up to the roll limit.
Starting player: The player who rolls first in a round and sets the roll limit.
Roll limit: The number of rolls everyone gets in a round, set by the starting player.
Doubles: Both dice showing the same number.
Worst hand so far: The lowest-ranked hand rolled so far in a round. The hand you need to beat.
The pot: The points at stake in a round. It starts at 1.
Take the pot: Add the points in the pot to your score.
Tie-break: A play-off between players tied on the worst hand.
Points: Your score. Points are bad: the fewest wins.
Point limit: The score that ends the game. Usually 25.

Practice game

Play a short game against three other players.

Quick reference

Hand ranking and scoring on one screen.